Fluid treating apparatus



pril 2, 1946.` A* G. KUHN 2,397,873

FLUID TREATING APPARATUS Filed March 7, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 2y n II :TI 'WMU |1|||| 'dil'hlgll llllllll INVENTOR Parent-'ea Apr. z, "194611,51

' `i.ami;gsm-sf -Parrain"v orricla:

i Eassieme FLUID TREATING APPARATUS Gerge Kami, silver spring, Md., assig'or to General Motors Corporatio poration of Delaware A' n,D ayton, Ohio, a cor- Ap-plieaaon March 7, 1942, serial No. 43.3518

" i'ciaim. A(o1. 'x4-44) This inventionrelates toi-the washing and clean-- ing of fabrics andarticles. and'more particularly pertains to powery driven washing and cleaning machines. v i 1 Thefinvention" provides awashing andcleaning machine which operates to effect a rapid and thoroughfeleaning or washing .of the articles without; vibration or the production of unbalancedforces. The operations performedby the machine include circulationoffthe-articles inv the washing fluid, scrubbing and shaking of the articles, agitatingtand ilexingv ofthe fabric of the articles and rapidly pulsating theiiiuid through'. the fabric. f-

More specifically, the invention `provides a wash4 A15 ing and cleaning machine-having a novel come4 vbination of .a .washingI or cleaning 'device 4and va uid extractingdevice, both devices being driven4 by driving means, which. is arranged to be` oper-f atively connected to.;or disconnectedfrom either l which: i f

Fig. lis a vertical'sectional view or a washing machineembodying the invention; A

Fig. 2 is a verticalrsectional view-of partei' the machine taken online 2--2 of-Fig; 1;

3 is a vertical sectional View, similar to 35 l, sh'owing another form of washing machine;

.Fig 4-is a sectional -view takenon line 4--4 of A4ional view takenfon line Figlie: 61s' a sectional takenl on of g; view on linefIL-T ofv Fig. i3-Vis., ,partial vertical sectionalview show- .45

ingr-another formfofadrive lfor*I the washing ma- Chinei j Fig. Q ,isna sectional view-italien on line- 9.'9. of y.; Fig,8,and` 1 i I V- diagrammatically a chain-drivel.;

Like-charactersaof.referencerrefer to the'same 01 vSimilar.parts throushoutthe'several viewsif. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

reference character lo designates the tub of the washing machine. which is preferably cylindrical in form with'a closed bottom II and an opening I2 at the top which is closed by a hinged cover I3. The tub issupported on a suitable pedestal indicated I4.' 'I'he bottom of the tub has a raised centralportion I5and a drain I6 connects with the lowermostpart of the bottom I I.

The fluid circulating or propelling maans is axially disposed in the tub I0 and, in general, comprisesa pulsator consisting of a hollow tubular member such asa cylinder I1 and an element such asa piston I8, and a fluid propelling .and

directingA piston skirtv I9. 'The cylinder I1 is of metal and has a closedupper endand anopen lower end-around the outer periphery of which is aring '20 of rubber or other suitable material.

i The cylinder is secured on the upper end of arecipro'cable shaft-2|.whichpasses through the upper end of the cylinder and the lower end of the cylinder is submerged so long as the water or other fluid ,22 is maintained at substantially theV levelshown in Figs.y 1 and 2. The inner and outer walls of the v.cylinder are disposed parallel to the direction/of 'motion of the cylinderand during normal operation `the cylinder -is neither .com-

pletely submerged nor entirelyv out lof the :fluidv so that splashing is prevented. The pulsator pisl ton., I8 is a-cylindrical metallicmember shaped similarly to the cylinder yII but is of sufiiciently smaller diameter to provide an annular opening 97 of substantial iiow area between the cylinder and piston through which the fluid readily mayv ow. Tlie piston is axiallyv disposed with respecttothe cylinder and is mounted on a fitting 23, preferablya die casting, which is fixed to the upper end of a piston sleeve 24 through which shaft 2l passes 3and upon which the sleeve bears at its upper'end. Shaft `2| passes in a. smooth running, ltvthrough a collar 25 carried by the upperclosedl end ol the piston I8. The fluid. propelling and" directing` skirt I9 h'as an outerr surfacewhich curves'gradually outwardly and vdownwardly and has a metallic upper part and a flexiblev n 2.8 whichis preferably rubber but may beofother suitable fiexible material, secured to the-upper part. The upper cnd'of theskirt I9 is secured'to the tting 23 and the skirt is axially "disposed withrespect to th'e piston I8 and cylinder I1. The piston skirt I9 may be made integral with or lseparate from the piston I8 and may have othershapes than that disclosed. For exampleffthecouter surface of theskirtmay be shaped so that it is horizontal, or approximately so, with a iin on its 4periphery which yextends downwardly and outwardly like the fin 26. This horizontal skirt is effective for-the purpose because the-opposing streams of fluid from the upwardly moving skirt and from the cylinder will meet and be th'rown radially outwardly. Shaft 21| and sleeve 24 extend through an opening in the necessity of a stufllng box upper and lower bellows 21 and 28 of rubber or other fluid-proof flexible material are used. The upper end of the upper bellows 21 is secured by means of a metallic ring 28 or the like in fluid pressure tight relationship to shaft 2| .at a point which will not interfere with the movement of the piston I8, and the-lower end is similarlyflxed to the upper portion of fitting 23. The upper portion of bellows| 28 is also similarly'flxed to the lower end of fitting 23 andthe lower end is fixed toa neck 30 on the operating mechanism housing 8| through which the sleeve 24 and shaft 2| pass.

A nut 32 threaded on neck 30 compresses packing material against the bottom II of the tub which is pressed against the upper part of the housing 3| thereby preventing leakage of fluid at this 51- has a strap 80 which carries a connecting rod 8l extending upwardly from strap 80 and shaft 40 and which is connected at its upper end through a wrist pin 82 to an extension 83 xed to sleeve 24 upon which the pulsator piston I8 and the skirt I9 are mounted. Eccentric 88 has a strap 88 which carries a connecting rod' 84 extending downwardly from the strap 83 and shaft 4I and which is connected at its lower end through ya wrist pin 85 to the lower end of a yoke 88 of rectangular configuration which straddles shaft 4I) and is connected at its upper end to the vlower end of rod 2I upon whichpulsator cylinder I1 is mounted. The abutting hubs 69 of the eccentrics bear in a vertically split block 81,' Fig. 6, having oppositely disposed recesses which receive guides 6,8 extending vertically along the inner side walls of the yoke 68. With this arrangement, eccentric 68 causes pulsator cylinder I1 to vertically reciprocate inthe tub I0 and eccentric 61 causes pulf sator piston I8 and skirt I9'also to vertically repoint. A plurality ofv air vents 33 pass through.

tting 23 next to sleeve 24 to connect the cham-1 bers'formed by the upper and lower bellows 21' and 28 to relieve air pressure and vacuum produced during operation. The fitting 23V is also provided with a plurality of water vents 34 next to the walls of the pulsator piston to relieve water pressure in the upper portion ofthe pulsator piston during operation. v In place of the lower bellows 28, a diaphragm, of rubber or other suitable material, of the type disclosed inmy copending application Serial No. 106,080, filed October 17, 1936,- patented May 12, 1942, No. 2,282,332, may be used. l

'I'he fluid circulating or propelling means is driven by a reversible electric, motor 38 through mechanism which' is mechanically balanced and the parts of which movewith complete symmetry of motion during all phases of the operative cycle. A belt 31 'runs over asmall driving pulley 38 on the shaft of the motor and a larger driven pulley 38 which runs freely on oney end ofan eccentric shaft 40. Pulley 33 has an annular friction surface 4I on one face thereof which engages a cooperating friction surface 42 on one'face of a disc 43 which is fixed to eccentric shaft 40 by a set screw 44. Pulley 39 and disc 43 are normally disengaged due to the action of a coil spring 45 on eccentric shaft 40 positioned within a recess in the hub of pulley 33. 'Ihis pulley-disc arrangement constitutes a friction clutch which may be operated from the top of the machine.

`" In the form shown, a handcrank 46 at the top of the tub I0 operates a vertically disposed rod41 at the side of th'e tub, the lower end of which operates a link 48 which is pivotally connected at one end to a shaft 49 disposed in axial alignment with eccentric shaft 40 and with its other end in a socket 0f the pulley 1|. A coil biasing spring 50 extending between a pin 6I on the frame of the machine and a properly located arm on link 48 retains the clutch in 'engagement after it has been engaged.

The eccentric shaft 40 has bearings 56 and 66 inthe sides of the housing 3| 'and has keyed thereto within the housing, eccentrics 51 and 68 h'aving laterally extending, abutting hub portions 88.. The eccentrics are ilxed to the shaft 40 in such manner that' their maximum .points of eccentricity are diametrically opposed. Eccentric ciprocate in the tub but in directions opposite to the direction of movement of the 'cylinder.l1. The strokes of the piston and cylinder are such' that the piston moves into the cylinder as far as.

is practically possible to provide the maximum displacement. The several parts are so proportioned that the weight of the'cylinder I1 and the parts reciprocating with' it are equal to the total weight of the piston I8 and skirt I9 and the parts reciprocating with them. The opposed relationship of the connecting rods 8| and 84, that is,

. the arrangement of the operating mechanism so that connecting rod 6I extends above and is connected to sleeve 24 above a horizontal plane pass-l ing through'the axis of eccentric shaft 40, and so that connecting rod 84 extends below and is connected to shaft 2|, in effect below such plane, y

results in-absolute symmetry of motion through .all phases of the operative cycle of the oppositely reciprocating parts and the" parts connected t0 and moving with them with complete mechanical balance being obtained and with resultant freedom from vibration. It will be understood that .complete symmetry oflmotion would not be obtained if both of the connecting rods 8| and 84 extended in the same direction, that is, if they were both connected tothefrespective parts which they operate at .the 'same side,V either above or below, of a horizontal plane passing through the axis of eccentric shaft 40. Also since the cylinder I1, the piston I8 and the skirt I9 are disposed and operate, in alignment with the axis of shaft 2| and the eccentrics are located and yoperate equidistantly from said axis and also operate in opposed relationship as previously mentioned, no unbalanced couples'or forces will be produced during operation. So arranged, or annilarly arranged, the fluid circulating or propelling means and its operative mechanism is in absolute mechanical balance so that no vibration results which originates in a mechanical source. Complete hydraulic balance is also obtained, due to the fact that thelpulsator cylinder and piston are proportioned to performy the same amount of work on the uid in the tub on each stroke ias the skirt performs, and since this work is done in opposite directions and in alignment, no unbalanced forces result. It will be appreciated that mechanical and hydraulic balance has been emphasized herein because thesefactors have not presented themselves as problems in prior types of fluid treating machines, due to the` factithat prior machines operate at speeds many times slower than the machine of th'e present invention. 

